


When the Music Overwhelms

by DawnWillBreakSoon



Category: Given (Anime), Given (Manga)
Genre: Ambiguously Post-Canon, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canon Compliant?, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Future AU(ish), I think it's canon compliant, Kissing, M/M, Near Future, aged-up characters (but it isn't really noticeable), they're better at communicating now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29728800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnWillBreakSoon/pseuds/DawnWillBreakSoon
Summary: Set ambiguously in a near future where Uenoyama and Mafuyu live together, Mafuyu prevents Ritsuka from taking his obsession with the latest song he's writing to an unhealthy level.Short, sweet, and you get the point.
Relationships: Satou Mafuyu/Uenoyama Ritsuka
Comments: 8
Kudos: 63





	When the Music Overwhelms

Usually, Mafuyu loves watching Ritsuka play his guitar. He absolutely can’t get enough of the fire that lights up his entire being when he plays, the contagious energy he radiates, the utter passion and rightness of the image. Even when he plays slower and more quietly there is something magnetic and incandescent about the way fluorescent light glints from his strings as if the light were pouring out of Ritsuka himself.

Even something as wonderful as music can be taken too far, though.

He’s has been sitting on the living room floor hunched over his guitar and about a dozen reams of staff paper all day. Mafuyu has consistently orbited around the room as he goes about his day – walk Kedama, check in with Ritsuka, check his work schedule, check on Ritsuka, make a grocery list, check on Ritsuka… For a while, he lounged on the couch behind Uenoyama, basking in the twangy buzz barely audible through Ritsuka’s oversized headphones. Then he went to the store; Ritsuka didn’t move while he was gone except to strum, write, erase, and strum some more. As Mafuyu put away the groceries, he took every excuse to cross Ritsuka’s line of sight – at least, it would have been his line of sight if he had glanced up for a second. Instead he was completely entranced by what he was working on.

Mafuyu didn’t bother Ritsuka while the sun was still above the horizon. He had long ago learned that when Ritsuka fell into an obsessive mood like this, especially when just starting to work on a new song, the best thing to do was to let him work. The world didn’t exist for Ritsuka in times like this. Only music and the emotions that it brought churned through his mind, his fingers, his being. However, Mafuyu had also learned that, if allowed, Ritsuka would forgo sleep for much longer than was healthy. When he inevitably crashed, it took a toll on those around him as much as it did himself. More than one frustrating, awkward, but ultimately helpful conversation had come on the heels of too many nights where music isolated the pair instead of bringing them together.

When the sunlight faded enough that Mafuyu clicked on the lamps to see what he was doing, he started making tea. Nothing fancy or overly flavorful, just plain black tea. When it had steeped he took a mug into the living room and sat it down by Uenoyama’s knee where he would see it and (hopefully) not knock it over.

“How’s it going?” he asked when Ritsuka’s hands paused. He pushed off his headphones and sighed.

“Not as well as I would like,” Ritsuka admitted, reaching for the tea, “but it’s getting there.” Mafuyu offered what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

“I know it’s going to be great,” he said. Uenoyama blew on the hot tea and took a sip.

“Don’t work too hard though, okay?” Mafuyu said gently with a pointed look, standing back up. Ritsuka nodded and replaced his headphones.

A few hours later, when the streetlights were on and the neighbor’s TV could be heard through the walls, Mafuyu brings in a new cup of tea. Ritsuka nods a brief response and keeps strumming. His eyebrows are drawn together and his lips pressed tight. Finally, when midnight comes and goes and he still shows no sign of slowing down, Mafuyu decides it is time to intervene for good.

He yawns and walks around the small apartment, turning off lights and straightening, and possibly procrastinating just a few more minutes. Finally, the only light is coming from a single lamp in the living room, the dishes are cleared, and the shades are drawn. Everything, except Ritsuka, is ready to let sleep sweep in.

Mafuyu climbs onto the couch Ritsuka is leaning against and lays down on his stomach, his head inches from Ritsuka’s. He reaches for Ritsuka’s shoulders and grips them firmly, slowly moving his thumbs in small circles over the muscles that he knows to be tight and stiff from being seated on the floor. Ritsuka’s body starts to relax immediately under Mafuyu’s touch, just as his mind picks up and his heart gives a stupid little jump in his chest. He puts down his pick and removes his headphones. Mafuyu works closer to his neck, then combs one hand through his hair while the other continues to work the knots in his shoulder.

“Mmf, that feels good,” Ritsuka says, leaning back slightly. Mafuyu grins and fluffs his hair forward over his eyes, dragging his hand playfully over Ritsuka’s face as he squirms and bats it away.

“It’s late,” Mafuyu says, “you need to sleep.”

“I know,” Ritsuka groans, “I just need to finish this first.”

“The last time you said that, you didn’t sleep for 72 hours.”

“Hey, I was on a roll-“

“You got steamrolled.”

“Yeah, well I’ll steamroll you,” Uenoyama retorts good-naturedly, swatting blindly over his head for Mafuyu who easily avoids him, laughing. Uenoyama yawns in spite of himself. Mafuyu leans down and slowly slides his hands across Ritsuka’s chest just below his collar bone. His arms cross and press Ritsuka gently back into the couch, and he rests his chin on his shoulder.

“Come to bed with me,” he whispers, his breath soft and hot in Ritsuka’s ear. He doesn’t respond right away, so Mafuyu places his lips on Ritsuka’s ear, first in a gentle kiss, then a tug of his lobe with his teeth. A gentle line of kisses skate down Ritsuka’s neck to his shoulder, eliciting a soft grunt, and Mafuyu knows that he has won when Ritsuka shifts and sets his guitar aside.

He leans out of Mafuyu’s reach just long enough to scrape together most of the sheet music, then twists to look at his boyfriend for what feels like the first time that day. The scent of sweet shampoo fills his nose, the source of which lay enthroned in an oversized sweatshirt on a faded hand-me-down couch, staring back at him with eyes that were struggling not to close, even as they urged Ritsuka to sleep. He leaned forward to gently kiss him, but Mafuyu responds with a fire Uenoyama didn’t expect. Soft arms wrap around tired muscle and bone. His plea is reiterated with every shift of his head, pressing the kiss deeper but not further, insistent but not desperate.

“Come to bed with me,” he whispers again against Ritsuka’s mouth, and this time Ritsuka slips one arm around his shoulders and one under his knees to lift him from the couch. Mafuyu holds on as if his life depends on it as his boyfriend steps over his music equipment and carries him to the bedroom, setting him gently on the bed before climbing in beside him and reigniting the kiss. Tired hands caress, unguarded mouths refuse to part, and hearts settle into the comfortable, intangible sanctuary created by their love and security. 

**Author's Note:**

> They deserve to have the healthiest relationship and come out the other side of everything stronger and more in love and understanding of one another than ever. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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